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NATIONAL YDL CHAMPIONS AGAIN

Peter Shaw

Sale Harriers U13 & U15 boys and girls are the 2017 National YDL Champions, a title they last won in 2014. With two wins and two 3rd places in National Finals in four years, this is a golden era for the club’s young athletes. The cauldron for a very tense final was the Alexander stadium, Birmingham. We went as ten times Northern Champions to compete again Britain’s top eight clubs. The final was as exciting a day of athletics that anyone could hope for with Sale scoring 602 points to win by just three. We set two YDL records, two club records and were awarded 64 medals including 29 gold.

Our inspirational captains led from the front with SOPHIE ASHURST retaining her title in the pole vault with a new YDL record to add to the English Schools and UK titles she’s already won with record performances. Boys captain SAM WORTHINGTON competed in four events winning two of them. BASIL ZOLA also competed in four events, setting a new YDL and club record to win the high jump as well as winning the long jump by half a metre and placing 3rd over 100m.

Sprinters SUCCESS EDUAN and LOUIS APPIAH-KUBI both excelled, winning three gold medals each. SUCCESS teamed up with JASMINE RICHARDSON, LIBBY WARREN and CHARLOTTE WILKINSON to set a new club record for the U13 girl’s sprint relay. LOUIS teamed up with SAM, ABRAHAM FOBIL and LUI DE MATOS to win the U15 boy’s relay in the fastest time in twenty years, 2nd only to what was the national record. Our girls U15 sprint relay team of POPPY GLASBY-SEDDON, PRAISE OWOEYE, JESS NELSON and HOLLY MURRAY won by a massive margin of two seconds.

MACKENA BRADSHAW had a great day medalling in three events whilst HERMIONE MASON missed the club U13 hurdles record by just 0.02 of a second. MORGAN FRITH holds the U13 YDL long jump record and in this match won the U15 event by a huge margin.

It is impossible to acknowledge everyone but every boy and girl can be proud of what they have achieved and the honour they’ve brought the club. It would, of course, all be impossible without team managers DAVE MARSH SARAH JAMES and CARL WORTHINGTON. They deserve special thanks. They brought it all together through the summer over the five matches to become Northern and National Champions. The co-operation of coaches is pivotal and they also must be thanked for their co-operation.